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Wedding of Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson
The wedding of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson was held on 23 July 1986 at Westminster Abbey in London, the United Kingdom. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_of_Inverness Courtship and engagement Prince Andrew, the third child of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, and Miss Sarah Ferguson, the daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson and his first wife Susan Wright, first met when they were kids, but had not been romantically involved until they met again at a party at Floors Castle in 1985. Th ey began their relationship that very same year, after a party held at Windsor Castle in honour of the Royal Ascot races.[1] Diana, Princess of Wales, Andrew's sister-in-law, played a hand in matchmaking the couple.[2] Andrew proposed to Sarah on 19 February 1986, his twenty-sixth birthday.[3] Their engagement was announced on 17 March 1986. Andrew presented Sarah with a Garrard engagement ring made from sketches Andrew himself had made. The ring features a Burma ruby surrounded by ten drop-diamonds. The mounting w as eighteen-karat white-and-yellow gold.[4] Andrew's bachelor party was held at Aubrey House in Holland Park. It was attended by Prince Charles, Billy Connolly, David Frost and Elton John.[5] Wedding ceremony Four months after announcing their engagement, Andrew and Sarah married on 23 July 1986 at Westminster Abbey in London. Sarah made her way with her father Ronald from Clarence Hous e in the Glass Coach, arriving at the church at 11.30.[1] The 45-minute wedding ceremony was conducted by the Most Reverend Robert Runcie, the Archbishop of Canterbury. As the couple exchanged their vows, Sarah mistakenly repeated Andrew's middle name, Christian;[6] five years ago, Diana, Princess of Wales, made similar mistake by reversing the order of Prince Charles's names.[7] Both of Andrew's brothers participated in the wedding ceremony; Prince Edward was his best man, while Prince Charles read a lesson during the service. The bridesmaids and page boys included Princess Anne's children Peter and Zara Phillips, and Prince Charles's eldest son Prince William. The Duke and Duchess of York left Westminster Abbey for Buckingham Palace in an open-top 1902 State Landau. Around 100,000 people gathered to witness the Andrew and Sarah's first kiss as man and wife on the balcony of the palace. After a traditional wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace, the married couple and some 300 guests moved to a party at Claridge's hotel.[6] Clothing Main article: Wedding dress of Sarah Ferguson Prince Andrew was dressed in a ceremonial attire of a naval lieutenant, while Sarah wore an ivory-silk wedding grown designed by Lindka Cierach.[6] Best man, bridesmaids and page boys The Prince Edward, Prince Andrew's younger brother, was his best man. The flower girls were Alice Ferguson, Sarah's half-sister from her father Ronald Ferguson's second marriage; Lady Rosanag h Innes-Ker, the daughter of Guy Innes-Ker, 10th Duke of Roxburghe; Laura Fellowes, the daughter of Diana, Princess of Wales's sister Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes; and Zara Phillips, the daughter of Andrew's sister Anne, Princess Royal. Andrew Ferguson, Sarah's paternal half-brother; Seamus Luedecke, the son of Sarah's sister Jane Luedecke; Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne; and Prince William of Wales were the page boys.[8] Guest list Commonwealth realms royal family and relatives *HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh *HM The Queen Mother **TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales ***HRH Prince William of Wales ***HRH Prince Harry of Wales **HRH The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips ***Mr. Peter Phillips ***Miss Zara Phillips **HRH The Prince Edward *HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon **Viscount Linley **Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones Other descendants of the Prince's great-grandfather King George V and their families: *HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester **TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester ***Earl of Ulster ***Lady Davina Windsor ***Lady Rose Windsor **TRH The Duke and Duchess of Kent ***Earl of St Andrews ***Lady Helen Windsor ***Lord Nicholas Windsor **HRH Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, and The Honourable Sir Angus Ogilvy ***James Ogilvy ***Marina Ogilvy **TRH Prince and Princess Michael of Kent ***Lord Frederick Windsor ***Lady Gabriella Windsor Other descendants of the Prince's great-great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria and their families: *The Right Hon. The Lady Saltoun *The Right Hon. The Countess Mountbatten of Burma **The Right Hon. The Baron Brabourne *Lady Pamela Hicks The family of Sarah Ferguson *Major Ronald Ferguson and Susan Ferguson, Sarah's father and stepmother *Susan Barrantes and Hector Barrantes, Sarah's mother and stepfather *Jane Ferguson, Sarah's sister, twice divorced. **Seamus Makim **Ayesha Makim **Heidi Luedecke *Andrew Ferguson, Sarah's paternal half-brother *Alice Stileman, Sarah's paternal half-sister *Eliza Ferguson, Sarah's paternal half-sister Members of foreign royal families *TM The King of the Hellenes and Queen of the Hellenes **HRH The Crown Prince of Greece **HRH Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark **HRH Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark *TRH Prince George William of Hanover and Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark **HRH Prince Georg of Hanover **TH Prince Karl of Hesse and Countess Countess Yvonne Szapáry von Muraszombath, Széchysziget und Szapár **HH Princess Christina Margarethe of Hesse, Mrs. Robert Floris van Eyck and Mr. Robert Floris van Eyck **HH Princess Dorothea of Hesse and HSH Prince Friedrich Karl zu Windisch-Grätz *HRH The Princess of Hesse and by Rhine *TSH The Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Charlotte of Hohenlohe-L angenburg *TSH Prince Andreas and Princess Luise of Hohenlohe-Langenburg *TSH Prince Albrecht and Princess Maria-Hildegard of Hohenlohe-Langenburg *HSH Princess Beatrix of Hohenlohe-Langenburg *TIH The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Japan *TRH The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Jordan *TSH The Prince and Princess of Liechtenstein *TRH The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg *HSH Albert, Hereditary Prince of Monaco *HM The Queen and HRH Prince Claus of the Netherlands *HM The King of Norway **TRH The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway *TM The King and Queen of Romania *TM The King and Queen of Sweden *HRH The Crown Prince of Yugoslavia *TRH Prince Tomislav and Princess Margarita of Yugoslavia **HRH Prince Nikola of Yugoslavia **HRH Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia *HRH Prince Christopher of Yugoslavia *HRH Princess Maria Tatiana of Yugoslavia *TRH Prince Alexander and Princess Barbara of Yugoslavia *HRH Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia Other notable guests *Sir Michael Caine, CBE *Elton John, CBE *Estée Lauder *Nancy Reagan, the First Lady of the United States Public reception The BBC reported that 500 million television viewers tuned in to watch the wedding of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson. An estimated crowd of 100,000 gathered to see the couple's first public kiss as man and wife on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.[9] Honeymoon The Duke and Duchess of York made their way to Heathrow Airport in an open carriage, with a paper maiche satellite dish and sign attached reading "Phone Home" put there as a practical joke by Prince Edward, Andrew's younger brother. The Princess of Wales and Viscount Linley, Princess Margaret's son, placed a king-sized teddy bear inside the coach. The couple boarded a royal jet, emblazoned with "Just Married" on the rear door, for the Azores Islands, and then spent their five-day honeymoon aboard the royal yacht Britannia in the Atlantic.[10] Titles upon marriage On the day of the wedding, The Queen created Prince Andrew Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh — the titles previously held by his maternal great-grandfather George V and grandfather George VI.[11] Sarah automatically assumed her husband's royal and ducal status, and became Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York, Countess of Inverness and Baroness Killyleagh, also attaining the rank of Princess of the United Kingdom. Aftermath The Duke and Duchess of York appeared to have a happy marriage, producing two daughters, Princess Beatrice (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) and Princess Eugenie (Eugenie Victoria Helena; born 23 March 1990), who are currently fifth and sixth in the line of succession to the British throne. However, due to Andrew's obligations as a naval helicopter pilot, as well as critical attention Sarah received from the media, contributed to the couple's estrangement.[12] Andrew and Sarah announced their separation on 19 March 1999,[13] and divorced on 30 May 1996.[14] After the couple's divorce, Sarah lost the style Her Royal Highness and styled Sarah, Duchess of York.[15] The custody of Beatrice and Eugenie was be shared between their parents, and Sarah even continued to live at the Duke's home, Sunninghill Park, until 2004, when he moved to the Royal Lodge. Sarah even hinted at the idea of remarrying Andrew in several interviews,[16] but numerous personal scandals she was involved in following her divorce led to Sarah not receiving an invitation to the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011.[17]